07 May 2011

CULTURE SLUT #23 [by Amber Forrester]

I first met Amber at a Canzine a few years ago. The afternoon was near ending and I was taking a final break from my table to have one last tour of the zinesters and artists. My eyes popped and I broke out into a massive smile when I saw Gwen Stefani pinback buttons. I picked them off the zinester's table as if I would have to fight others to get them and told the stylish young womon behind the table how cool the buttons were. She agreed and told me that she was surprised that no one else liked them. "No worries," I said. "They're all for me!"

My Gwen Stefani Button!!!

That is the story of how I was introduced to Culture Slut and Amber's zine-amazingness in general---she also runs a rad distro and catalogues her adventures and writes great zine reviews on her blog.

As a blogger, Amber doesn't use her zine to archive her writings. Instead, she uses her zine as an opportunity to showcase her design talent. In Culture Slut #23, she shows details of the places where she lives and has lived through colour polaroids. In addition to these polaroids, she writes short articles about her family and friends, as well as little self-reflective snippets. Nothing about this zine is excessive. In fact, it is a wonderful balance of colour, image and idea.

An added bonus of this issue of Culture Slut is the super cute boy who appears mid-way in the zine. You have to buy your own copy to see him for yourself. You can email Amber to see if she has any copies for sale.

Who Is Zio?

Zio is a co-founder and key organizer of the Ravenswing DIY Fair, Ottawa's craft and zine fair. He also writes a zine, Electric Mayhem. He loves zines because they defy censorship and encourage freedom of expression. For information on getting reviewed, email ravenswingottawa@gmail.com.